Surfer Sets World Record by Riding 78-Foot Wave

Pro surfer Garrett McNamara recently set a world record for the largest wave ever surfed after catching a gargantuan 78-footer off the coast of Portugal. Dude, gnarly!

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, McNamara broke a 2008 record by more than one foot. In the video below, McNamara nimbly surfs down the face of a gigantic wave that dwarfs him in size, somehow managing to survive a monster break and emerging from the wave’s tube as the swell dies out.

But, the surfer said, he almost didn’t ride the waves that day, having endured a pummeling in the waters of Praia do Norte previously. “I was really beat-up that morning,” he said. “This day, I did not want to get out of bed.” (We bet he’s glad that he did.)

While McNamara said he knew the wave was big, he had no idea he was in the process of setting a world record. “I knew it was big, but I didn’t know how big,” he said.

Later, he sent footage of his epic ride to Guinness officials who used the length of his shin bone to determine the relative size of the wave. After that, a new world record was born. Cowabunga!